Peter Sarsgaard Tackles LSD, CIA Mind-Control and Political Dissent in 'Wormwood'
9/11/2017 by Ariston Anderson
Peter Sarsgaard in 'Wormwood'
The actor stars as bacteriologist Frank Olson in the new Errol Morris miniseries.

In 1953 bacteriologist Frank Olson plunged to his death from a hotel window after being unknowingly dosed with LSD by the CIA. The headline-grabbing story seemed sinister enough until a decades-long investigation revealed that the actual truth behind his death might be something much more nefarious: a government-order execution to get rid of a political liability.

Peter Sarsgaard brings the last days of Olson’s life to light in the new Errol Morris miniseries Wormwood, a 258-minute odyssey that is one part detective story and one part a history of government deception. The period flashbacks are contrasted with present-day interviews with Frank Olson’s introspective son Eric, who has spent his life trying to uncover the mystery of his dissident father’s death....

Do you share your character's paranoia and questioning of the government?
I don’t have paranoia of the government because I know that it’s up to no good a lot of the time. They advertise it now; they don’t hide it. So at least my paranoia is gone. I’ve never trusted completely any government; I don’t think you are supposed to. Like at a certain point you are supposed to see your parents as people, not as mom and dad and be able to deal with them as people. I think a lot of people treat the government as parents that they aren’t allowed to criticize in any way....

Project MKULTRA, The CIA’s Program Of Research In Behavioral Modification
JOINT HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH OF THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION
AUGUST 3, 1977http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/13inmate_ProjectMKULTRA.pdf